Taking Over
by Kanan
Summary: Darkness lies in everyone's hearts, but when the darkness starts taking over, will the ronins be able to keep it together or will they fall one by one? Stress, secrecy and uncertainty will drive one ronin over the edge, but is it too late to pull him back before he's lost forever?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Okay, here we go again…. *Takes a deep breath* IdonotownRoninWarriorsorthecharacterstherein. Phew. How was that?

Oh, and on another note, Happy 25th Anniversary, Ronin Warriors! Still a beloved anime with fans spanning the globe!

Taking Over

I can't stand it…

Day in and day out, it's all I can think about. Every night is filled with nightmares of battles past and every day I stare into the mirror at the numerous scars that those battles have left me with. Some of them still hurt… they ache every day without relief… Skin that was once soft and lovely now seems so coarse and alien to me. Dark circles hang below my eyes and a heavy weight is bearing down on my chest… this weight made up of guilt, pain, sorrow and uncertainty are just impossible to shake off. Who… who is this stranger staring back at me from beyond this glassy portal? Who is it…?

Honestly, I can hardly remember my life before I took up arms as the bearer of Torrent… and that frightens me. Whatever life I had of my own is gone now… and so is the person I once was. Now, I'm just Torrent…. Only a puppet to ward off evil… A sacrificial lamb, of sorts.

There is a shift in the room behind me and as I look back I see Kento, my roommate, my teammate, shift onto his side in bed. He often shifts positions throughout the night unless he's got something to hold onto. …Don't ask me how I know that. It's still very early, about five in the morning and I know he's very exhausted… sleeping off his recovery from the last battle we were in no more than three days ago. Even in the darkness I can see the band aid on his cheek and the bandage wrapped tightly around his bicep. He really took a thrashing out there again… but he is just so brash sometimes. He rushes right into battle without much thought to why we're doing this or who he's fighting. He jumps right into the thick of it head first without hesitation, even when his life is in danger…

There is something courageous and admirable about how he is. Strong, fearless, but also kind and gentle like a teddy bear… But dumb… Maybe we're all dumb for how we blindly do as we're told and take up arms against an enemy so much stronger than us… It's all just dumb… We are always in danger, forced to put our lives on the line again and again to save the world. Sometimes, I just wish it would fall on someone else's shoulders for once. Sometimes I wish they would just leave us alone.

I… I don't want to do this anymore….


	2. Chapter 2

Morning's light was finally shining in through one of the bedrooms in the large house, which awoke a burly young man. He groaned and pulled the covers tightly around him in an attempt to escape the beams of light which were assaulting him, though he was met with little success.

"Cye… Curtain…" He said groggily, but when no reply followed, even to scold him for sleeping in, he sat upright and gazed across the room. Sure enough, the other's bed was empty, and so perfectly made that it looked as though it hadn't even been slept in. Cye had been waking earlier and earlier for some time now, and often times, Kento wondered if the eldest ronin ever slept at all. Well, there were some nights he saw him sleep, however short-lived said sleep was. But still, his behavior had begun to change over the course of a few weeks and Kento was becoming increasingly concerned. However, when the sweet smell of food wafted in from the kitchen downstairs, his priorities immediately shifted to his empty stomach. He smiled, pushed the covers off of him and tread quietly downstairs. Cye's cooking was simply amazing… he would use such unique blends of spices to create incredible flavors, and even when there was very little to work with, he could make a masterpiece meal fit for anyone. He was like their own private 3-star gourmet chef and it was just one of many attributes that Kento admired.

Sneakily, Kento poked his head through the kitchen door and spotted Cye at the counter, busy as always and more than a little distracted. Cye wasn't himself, so Kento wanted nothing more to than to provide a little pick-me-up and he had a clever idea indeed. Making sure no one was around, he crept into the kitchen soundlessly and crossed the floor to stand directly behind Cye. The water bearer still hadn't noticed him which left him wide open for a surprise attack! The eldest had been lost in his thoughts since awaking a few hours earlier and was now busying himself with cutting vegetables for omelets when he suddenly stiffened, feeling strong arms encircle his waist and a warm chest press against his back. Shocked, he dropped the knife and quickly looked back. His heart was beating a mile a minute, expecting to see an enemy attacking, but instead…

"K-KENTO!" The strong man behind him only chuckled, obviously very pleased with himself. "Baka! Don't just sneak up on someone like that! I nearly had a heart attack!"

"Aw come on, it was no big deal! Besides, I wanted to surprise you!" He said with a big smile.

"Well you did that…!" Cye heaved, glad that he wasn't in any danger, but more than a little peeved at the sudden scare. He took a minute to steady his heart again when he felt Kento press up even tighter, his head leaning over his shoulder.

"Mm… smells good."

"It's just omelets… they're not ready yet."

"I wasn't… talking about the food." He replied, his voice dropping low, eyes smoldering and arms tightening around Cye. All of this sent shivers up his spine and brought a flush to his cheeks.

_/I'm a liar…/_

"Kento… H-hey…." Cye struggled to get free but Kento was stronger. He didn't intend to let him go so easily. "Baka… let go…"

_/We're lying to everyone…/_

Cye's soft whines and feeble struggling only amused Kento. He saw this as a game, and he was going to win. Softly, he pressed his lips to Cye's neck which drew out a startled gasp. It was so amusing and arousing to watch Cye's inexperience shine through and to see his expressions change so suddenly. Cye's brow knit together, his jaw clenched, his eyes shut tightly… He could feel Cye's breath hitch and his heart pound as he lightly sucked on that tender spot on the back of his neck. His hands shifted only slightly but it still brought a strained moan from Cye's soft lips which only excited Kento further. Cye was starting to squirm again, but now for a completely different reason.

"K-Kento, don't… please… someone will see…"

"No one's here." Kento said, not letting go. "Not that I care… let them see."

"But…"

_/Kento and I…. have been seeing each other in secret… It's so… scandalous…/_

Kento's mouth went back to Cye's neck, lightly nipping and sucking on that supple flesh and soon, Cye was no longer trying to get away. It was clear that the eldest was having trouble staying on his feet, but was it from the overwhelming pleasure, or the battle injury to his leg that he was trying so hard to hide? Kento wanted to give himself credit for that and licked a wet trail up to Cye's ear.

"Lets go back to bed…"

"C-can't… b…breakfast…." It was getting harder to speak or even think coherently, what with Kento's gentle but insistent ministrations.

"I'll take my breakfast in bed." Kento said, pressing up against him again and this time, Cye could not hold in his moans. Pressure was building up and there was no way to stop it…! He leaned over the counter to keep himself from falling and that only gave Kento permission- in his mind.

"I'll make it worth your while…" Kento's hand shifted again, this time moving lower across his stomach and lower still. Cye bit his lip, knowing full well what he intended to do and he tried his hardest not to make a sound as he felt the hand slipping under the waistband of his pants. A door closed upstairs and footsteps were quickly approaching them. This made Cye jump and tense up. He started to panic while Kento was more interested in breeching the confines of that last layer of protective clothing. Cye's pleas fell on deaf ears, but he knew they only had moments before their secret would get out. Shakily, he reached across the counter, grabbed hold of the object in his sights, and….

"Mornin!" Rowen said cheerfully, poking his head into the kitchen only to catch sight of the most hilarious thing he could ever imagine. Cye had swung around at that exact moment to whap Kento upside the head with a frying pain. Kento's eyes crossed for a moment before he fell to the floor twitching.

"BAKA!" Cye was gasping hard, his face red as the tomatoes on the counter. He was really seething… When Kento regained his composure and saw Cye's expression he panicked and started crawling across the floor towards the door.

"Run, man…! Cye's losin it!" Kento warned Rowen, almost jokingly. …Almost.

"I'll show you losing it! Now get out or else!" Cye shouted, throwing the pain towards the door and nearly getting Rowen this time. Both boys rushed out of there like their lives depended on it and didn't stop until they were safe, sitting on the back porch. They took a minute to catch their breath before exchanging glances and laughing. They just barely avoided death! After a minute, Rowen leaned up against a post and sighed.

"Wooow…. You musta really done something bad to make him THAT angry!"

"Aw, it wasn't so bad…." Kento looked down, suddenly getting serious. "It was… actually really good…."

"Mm…?" Rowen looked at his old friend, and something told him he already knew what had happened. "Let me guess…. I interrupted something good?" Kento sighed heavily and nodded.

"It was heavy, man… he's been so tense lately, I thought I could loosen him up a bit."

"Ah… sorry! Next time post up a sign, okay? I didn't mean to interrupt you." Rowen… he knew. He knew long before they made it official that there was something between them, and he wasn't the only one. He was the first to notice it, but by now, everyone in the house could tell. The harder Cye tried to hide it, the more obvious it became.

"If I put up a sign, Cye would freak out. He's still not willing to come out with it."

"Haven't you told him that it's already out in the open?"

"I've tried… but before I can, he just shuts down…." Kento's eyes looked somewhat sad. "He's afraid of what you all think… he's afraid of being judged."

"You sure that's what it is?" Rowen asked, bringing the other man's eyes to him.

"Maybe… Cye's judging himself. Maybe he's not sure about your relationship yet… it takes time sometimes. …Took me forever to get through to Sage."

"How's that going, by the way?" Rowen replied only with a shrug. He wasn't going to rush it, though he'd spoken his peace without the world falling apart. He and Sage were still very close. It's obvious that something is going on, though probably not like what Kento and Cye had just been doing in the kitchen. Rowen patted Kento on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Just take it slow, man…. Let Cye set the pace, okay?" Kento nodded and smiled back. It may take longer than he wanted, but Cye had to come around sometime… right?


End file.
